Is California Ready for Telehealth Growth?

A convergence of trends — health care reform, a shortage of physicians and advances in technology — will result in the rapid growth of telehealth starting this year, according to researchers.

A new report from IHS, a research and analytics company, predicts telehealth — a catch-all term describing doctors and other providers diagnosing, treating and monitoring patients remotely using computers, video and other technology — will grow eightfold in the U.S. over the next five years, from about $240 million this year to $1.9 billion in 2018.